Meaning & use
depicts
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“depicts” is a form of “depict”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive
Shows a person, scene or idea in a picture, carving or similar visual work.
Grammar: Always takes an object: the mural depicts a harvest.
Patterns
- something depicts someone
- something depicts something doing something
The stained-glass window depicts a ship in a storm.
This coin depicts the head of a long-dead king.
Her painting depicts children playing in a flooded street.
verbtransitive
Describes or presents someone or something in words or on screen in a particular way, so that others form a certain picture of them.
Grammar: Often followed by as: the film depicts him as a hero.
Patterns
- depict someone as something
- depict something accurately
The novel depicts life in a small fishing village with great warmth.
The report depicts the company as careless with customer data.
The documentary depicts the war through the eyes of ordinary soldiers.
Word forms
| third person singular | depicts |
|---|---|
| past tense | depicted |
| past participle | depicted |
| -ing form | depicting |
Common combinations
- depicts a scene
- The painting depicts a scene from a village market.
- depicts someone as
- The article depicts the mayor as a stubborn leader.
- accurately depicts
- The film accurately depicts daily life in the 1950s.
- vividly depicts
- The author vividly depicts the heat and noise of the city.
- graphically depicts
- The chart graphically depicts the rise in prices.
Synonyms and how they differ
- portray
- Portray is very close and often used for actors and writers, but it leans more toward interpretation and character, while depict stresses showing how something looks or is.
- show
- Show is the everyday word and works in any context, whereas depict sounds more formal and suggests an artistic or deliberate representation.
- represent
- Represent can mean stand for something symbolically, while depict means to actually show it in a picture or description.
- illustrate
- Illustrate often means to explain something with pictures or examples, while depict simply shows the subject itself.
Word family
Commonly confused: depicts or depose?
depicts vs depose
Depose means to remove a ruler from power, and has nothing to do with showing or describing something.
Practice
The museum has a vase that ___ a hunting scene.
Choose one answer.
Depicts means shows in a picture, which fits a decorated vase. Predicts is tempting but means to say what will happen in the future.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “depicts”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.